Analysts Cut iPhone X Shipment Forecasts, Citing Lukewarm Demand

(FinancialPress) — Apple Inc. (AAPL) didn‘t have the merriest of Christmases, as analysts gave the company‘s iPhone X shipment forecasts a significant cut on the holiday.

Projections for the first quarter of 2018 were lowered, as demand for the device is being labeled as lackluster around the end of the holiday shopping season.

Zhang Bin, analyst for Sinolink Securities Co. said in a report that the forecasted 45 million handset shipments for the period could suffer a setback of as many as 10 million units less shipped than originally predicted. “After the first wave of demand has been fulfilled, the market now worries that the high price of the iPhone X may weaken demand in the first quarter,” Zhang wrote.

Analyst firm JL Warren Capital LLC said that Q1 2018 will see a drop to 25 million units from the 30 million units shipped in Q4 2017, basing the projection on the fact that Apple reduced orders at some of its suppliers. The firm cited “weak demand because of the iPhone X’s high price point and a lack of interesting innovations,“ in a note to clients.

“Bad news here is that highly publicized and promoted X did not boost the global demand for iPhone X,” the note followed.

Apple counted on the 10th anniversary iPhone to boost its sales towards the coveted $1 trillion landmark that it‘s poised to reach soon. The company is also facing ever-growing challenges from perennial contender Samsung Electronics Co., which is rapidly recovering from the filibuster that the Galaxy Note 7 fires brought about. Chinese brands Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi are also growing in market shares in Asian markets.